Yemen tries to find two al-Qaida suspects

HOSUN AL-JALAL, Yemen -- Yemenis say the task is huge: hunting down two al-Qaida suspects wanted by the United States and last seen in a region where gun-toting tribesmen rule and government forces don't enter without permission.

To further complicate the search, Qaed Salim Sunian al-Harethi, a suspected top al-Qaida official, and Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, wanted by the United States for the attack on the USS Cole, could have escaped into the Empty Quarter -- a desert patch the size of France.

"If that is where they are, looking for them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack," local governor Naji bin Abdullah Asoofi said.

Last week, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abubaker Al-Qirbi said officials knew where the two were, but government forces could not just apprehend the suspects for fear of turning powerful tribes against the government.

Al-Qirbi said his country wanted to help in the war on terrorism, but that the United States had to understand its limitations.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said in December that the United States had been "urging the Yemenis to do more" about suspected al-Qaida members in the country.

The administration has long been concerned about "pockets where we believe al-Qaida people have sheltered and may be there now" particularly along the remote Saudi border, Wolfowitz said.

The U.S. push for greater cooperation began after the Cole attack in October 2000 that killed 17 U.S. sailors in the Yemeni port of Aden. The United States blamed that attack on Osama bin Laden -- suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks.